Does anyone ride a Jamis Coda Sport 21" or 23"?
 

If so, how tall are you and what's your inseam / arm length?

I'm 6'1, 33.5" inseam and 36" arms.

I currently ride a 59cm Kona Paddy Wagon and it fits great.

Looking for a bike with gears and there are few Jamis Coda Sports available online for great prices right now. They come in 21 and 23 inch frames. I've compared the geometry with my Kona Paddy Wagon and it looks like the 21 would be the right way to go, but was just curious what others are riding.

Thanks
James

James, I would guess that the 21" frame might be too small for you. I'm 6'0" with a 31.5" inseam and am comfortable on a 21" 1997 Trek 750. If anything, the frame could be a hair larger for me. I'm not familiar with the Coda's geometry, but I would guess that a 34.5" inseam will be best on a 23" frame vs. a 21" one.

Thanks for the reply and realized I made a mistake in my original post. My inseam is 33.5, not 34.5. Not sure if that makes a difference on your assessment.

My only concern is that my 59cm paddy wagon is great and when I compare the 2 bikes, the 21' Coda is quite similar to the 59cm paddy wagon, with the exception of the seat tube length which is 53.3 on the Coda and 57 on the paddy wagon.

Having said that, I did test ride a 61cm paddy wagon (with top tube length similar to the 23" coda) and it was too big for me and stretched me out too much.

I know this is a terrible way to make a purchase, but there isn't a dealer anywhere close to me to try these out and the online prices are around 50% off right now so it's going to have to be a calculated risk.

I did read a comment on this forum from a few years ago and someone indicated the 23" Coda frame is quite large and for someone who is 6'4 or so.

I was considering a Coda in the past and spoke to a shop about it. At 6'2", they recommended a 23", but I never test rode one to know for sure. I have heard they run small compared to other manufactures.

That being said, I'd trust you geometry comparison over hear say.

I wanted to run some geometry numbers to see if that might help us with more of an "educated guess".

I've got experience with 2 bikes and they both fit me quite well. However, I wouldn't want to go bigger than them and I suspect a slightly smaller size would work as well. here are the stats on them:

59cm Kona Paddy Wagon:

- Seat Tube length (sloping top tube) 57cm
- Top Tube length 585cm
- Reach 410cm
- Stack 572cm

59cm Surly Steamroller:

- Seat Tube length (flat top tube) 59cm
- Top Tube length 587 cm
- Reach 408cm
- Stack 586cm

Both of the above bikes have a similar reach. The stack is longer on the Surly. Both bikes seemed to work for me from a size perspective after adjusting stems to adjust length and height slightly.

Now, with the two Jamis sizes (21" and 23" I'm considering)

21" Jamis Coda

- Seat Tube length (Sloping Top Tube) 53.3cm
- Top Tube length 585cm
- Reach 412cm
- Stack 583cm

23" Jamis Coda

- Seat Tube length (Sloping Top Tube) 58.4cm
- Top Tube length 595cm
- Reach 418cm
- Stack 598cm

It appears that the 21" Jamis has a similar Stack and Reach to both the 59cm Surly and Kona that worked well for me. The 23" Jamis has a longer Stack and Reach than both the Kona and Surly. This causes me concern that it could be too big for me and have me stretched out too much.

The thing that is causing me some confusion is the Seat Tube length. It's quite a bit shorter on the 21" Jamis vs the Kona and Surly. Even if we disregard the Surly because of the flat top tube, the sloping top tube of the Kona at 57cm is still 3.7cm longer than the 21" Jamis.

Would this shorter top tube perhaps suggest that I would get more of an "upright" riding position because the seat is lower but I can still get the same reach and stack? If so, I'm ok with that as I've had a back surgery in the past and would prefer to be more upright.

Again, I know this isn't the best way to buy a bike at all, but there is no chance for me to test ride one of these and the prices good enough that I'm will to take a chance with some help to make an educated guess.

Thanks
James

I do think that I'd probably favor the effective top tube length when sizing. Both "top tube" numbers are the effective top tube lengths, right (to avoid an apples-to-oranges comparison between lengths of sloping top tubes)? You can always have more seat tube sticking out of the Coda's frame to get your saddle-to-crank measurement where you like it (in order to have the reach you desire), but you likely can't very easily shorten the reach on the 23" Coda. You could put a shorter stem on it, but I don't think you could get it THAT MUCH shorter (you're talking a difference of 60mm between the 21" and 23" frames).

After seeing the numbers, I think I'd agree that the 21" is going to be the closest to what you're used to. You'll have more exposed seat tube on a 21" (compared with on a 23"), but that's perfectly fine, as long as it's not pulled out past the minimum insertion mark. Your reach measurement is in the same ballpark, so I would think you SHOULD be able to get it dialed in pretty close.

Of course, online/sight-unseen purchases like this are always risky, as you never can know for sure.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...67caed5c7d.jpg

Measurements related to frame geometry

Here is the annotation for geometry related measurements from Jamis, https://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/codasport.html
If you want the same fit, the saddle position (height and setback) is fixed relative to the bottom bracket. It is determined by your leg length. You set it using setback seatpost, adjusting seatpost height, moving the saddle -- but it is fixed w.r.t. the bottom bracket. Now, you need the same reach and stack to achieve the same torso and hands position.
(Effective top tube can be slightly confusing since in this figure it is B = L + K/tan(D) -- you can plug in the numbers from the Jamis' table and check. The second term will depend on the seat tube angle and stack, introducing confusion.)

Another factor is that the stack and reach are measured relative to the top of the headtube, while in reality the stem can have spacers underneath it. Assuming the headtube angle C of approximately 70 degrees, sin(C)=1 and cos(C) = 0.33, adding 1cm of spacers will decrease the effective reach by 1/3cm and increase effective stack by 1cm.

Now, assuming that the Kona has enough steer tube and that you can move the stem to the match the stack height of the 23" Coda, the effective reach would be 410 - (598-572)/3 = 401mm. This makes 17mm difference compared to Coda's 418mm.
Moving the stem of the Kona up to match the stack of the 21" Coda will make the reach 410 - (583-572)/3 = 406 mm, which is 6mm shorter than the Coda's 412mm.
Based on these I would go with 21".

An important thing is how many spacers Coda has and to what extent you can move the handlebars up and down. You cannot go lower than the frame stack, obviously :) How many spacers do your Kona and Surly have?

Also, you can have the same effective reach, but higher handlebars...